lt is one of the most haunting photos in the Edmonton Journal archives: a picture of Thomas Svekla, dressed in a green camouflage jacket and tinted round sunglasses, smiling tauntingly at the camera, his finger held to his lips. “Shhhh,” he seems to be saying. “I’ve got a secret.”

Defenceman beats Hall, Paajarvi, Cogliano, then heads to AHL

Photograph by: Rick MacWilliam
, edmontonjournal.com

Edmonton — The safe bet was not to pick Edmonton Oilers defenceman Taylor Chorney. After all, Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi and Andrew Cogliano were among those vying for the team’s fastest skater title.

But after the speedsters had zipped around the ice in the Oilers annual skills competition at Rexall Place on Saturday, it was Chorney who had bragging rights. He stopped the clock in 13.942, followed by Liam Reddox (14.077), Hall (14.112), Linus Omark (14.270), Paajarvi (14.742) and Cogliano, the perennial runner-up, who slipped up on the second corner. He stayed on his feet, but pulled in last at 15.850.

“A couple of guys did bet on him, but (Chorney) was a dark horse,” said defenceman Kurtis Foster, who took the hardest shot event with a slapper clocked at 103.4 m.p.h. “I actually took Hallsie and he kind of let me down. I thought those young legs would be flying.”

More than 10,000 fans filed into Rexall Place for the competition, which featured a team on its way to 30th place in the NHL with just two wins in its last 15 games. That did not matter to the those in attendance, particularly the youngsters. They got to see the Oilers cut loose for a couple of hours — and there was some skill on display.

Paarjarvi, for one, stole the show with his footwork and stick handling. Omark, too, dazzled in the shootout competition, which, ironically, was won by Cogliano.

Tom Gilbert topped the competition in the shooting accuracy.

“No one would have picked me for the king of the shootout,” said Cogliano, who was the fastest skater at the NHL’s Young Stars event in 2009, but has yet to win it in Edmonton. “The fastest skater? I just can’t win it here. I must be cursed.”

Chorney, meanwhile, took the title, then received a plane ticket back to Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League. With Jim Vandermeer ready to return from an ankle injury, the Oilers needed to free up a roster spot.

The 23-year-old Chorney played six games during his stay.

“I don’t think many people thought I’d do as well as I did,” he said before he got the ticket back to the AHL, “but I knew I could wheel a little bit if I could get a chance to wind it up like that.

“It was pretty stiff competition. We could go do it again right now and maybe I’d finish last.”

Cogliano wasn’t so sure about that. He was somewhat taken aback by how quick Chorney was. As for Foster, he just revelled in the proceedings — and, of course, his victory.

Foster, Chorney and Colin Fraser were all new to the phenomenon that is the skills event in Edmonton. It is not a competition staged in all NHL rinks in the United States.

“I haven’t done that in so long, maybe nine, 10 years, so it was good when I looked up and saw that it was 103,” said Foster, who beat Steve MacIntyre (100.7 m.p.h.) and Dustin Penner (100.1). He takes over for Sheldon Souray, who held bragging rights for hardest shot the previous two years.

Souray was gone, but not forgotten. He had left some of his sticks in a backroom when he went off on the management and ended up in the AHL. In an attempt to bolster his chances, J.F. Jacques elected to dust off one of the defenceman’s old sticks.

“He brought out Souray’s 120, which is one of the stiffest sticks you can find and (the blade) hooks like a nine-iron,” said Foster. “He missed the (net) on the first one. MacIntyre used it, too.

“This was just great. I’ve never been part of anything like this before and it was fun to see that many fans, especially that many kids.”

OIL DROPS: Frederic Chabot went from tutor to target when the goaltending coach put on his gear and manned one of the nets for the skills competition. Nikolai Khabibulin, Ladislav Smid, Ales Hemsky, Jordan Eberle and Gilbert Brule were all kept out of the event. Khabibulin said he just needed some down time, but he will back up Devan Dubnyk against the Nashville Predators on Sunday night. Smid practised and will likely be in the lineup.

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